More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s war with Hamas began, the territory’s health ministry said Sunday, a grim milestone for a war with no end in sight as Israel resumes fighting and warns of even tougher days ahead.

The United States told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that the Palestinian militant group Hamas was to blame for the deaths in the Gaza Strip since Israel resumed hostilities there.

An Israeli airstrike killed a Hamas political leader in southern Gaza. Palestinian officials put the death toll from months of conflict at over 50,000.

Israel has struck Lebanon in retaliation for rockets targeting Israel, and two people have been killed including a child.

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Lebanon in response to a rocket attack from across the border on Saturday, as militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility for the launch.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered "a second wave of strikes against dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon",